ROUND 1 of the SANFL season saw a number of Power players performing at both senior league and reserves level, with some players continuing to find form as they return from injury and others continuing to push their claim for selection at AFL level.

This week, reigning premiers Central District had the bye, while the Magpies and Redlegs met at AAMI Stadium in a curtain-raiser to the AFL game between the Power and the Eagles.

All games were watched closely by development manager Daniel Healy and development coach Matthew Nicks. Their full report is below.

SANFL Player of the Week
John Butcher (for Magpies vs Redlegs)
He took 10 marks, had 16 possessions and kicked 3 goals 3 and was instrumental in the Magpies being so close to last year’s losing SANFL grand final side. He took a number of contested marks and is showing great improvement with all the extra work that he’s been doing on the training track.

PTV: SANFL Rd 1 - Player of the Week

Jacob Surjan (for Magpies vs Redlegs)
Surj got a job to do on one of Norwood’s dangerous forwards and did really well - he was back to the defensive and dangerous Jacob Surjan that we know which was really pleasing.

Mitch Banner (for Magpies vs Redlegs)
He had another 26 possession game against the Redlegs and continues to win the hard ball - he had a number of contested possessions and laid 6 tackles, as well as winning 3 clearances from the bottom of packs. He continues to be very impressive for the Magpies.

Brett Ebert (for Magpies vs Redlegs)
This is his third game back since his bout of tonsillitis, and his second game with the Magpies after his first game was as a guest player in the reserves of a rival SANFL side. Each week he’s looked faster, fitter, stronger and sharper and that continued this week - he’s very close to forcing his way back into the Power side now. He kicked a goal, took 5 marks and worked hard all day.

Tom Jonas (for Redlegs vs Magpies)
Tom played on his senior teammate Brett Ebert and he’s taking huge steps towards being a senior player. He had 19 possessions and really focussed on a number of defensive efforts - he bodied well, got plenty of ball between the arcs, and we were very happy with his game. He’s definitely taken a big step forward in his football and we look forward to seeing more improvement over the coming weeks.

Daniel Motlop (for Roosters vs Bloods)
He was definitely one of the stand-out Power players on the weekend, and kicked 5 goals 1 from his 15 possessions and looked very lively. North were very pleased with his output and that’s the sort of footy that will see him back in the AFL.

Marlon Motlop (for Roosters vs Bloods)
After playing in the midfield for the reserves over the last couple of weeks and doing really well there, Marlon came into the league side and played as a small forward with limited game time. He had good impact when he was there and gathered 10 possessions, gave away a couple of goals and laid a couple of excellent tackles.

Michael Pettigrew (for Bloods vs Roosters)
Petters played mainly up forward and kicked 3 goals from limited opportunities in the first half. He then went down back towards the end of the match and had a positive impact upon the play in a solid display.

Hamish Hartlett (for Bloods vs Roosters)
Pleasingly, 2H was able to get eighty percent game time under his belt, which is what we really wanted him to achieve this week after copping a nasty knock the previous week. He had 18 or so touches and moved really well, looking strong and sharp and fit - he should definitely be pushing for selection in the AFL this week.

Callum Hay (for Roosters reserves vs Bloods)
Hay had 16 touches playing mostly on the wing and across the half-back flank. There’s still plenty of areas that Callum is continuing to work through, but some of his run and carry was very good and he continued to improve.

Aaron Young (for Roosters reserves vs Bloods)
Youngie got dropped to the reserves after playing most of the trial games in the senior side. He had a solid day - his second quarter in particular was very good, picking up 8 touches playing on the wing. When he gets it he uses the ball very well and he’s impressing in that area.

Andrew Moore (for Roosters reserves vs Bloods)
This was Andrew’s first game for the year and he played around 60 minutes. He showed in the time that he was out there that he’s looking very sharp - it’s a credit to the conditioning staff to get him looking so good after such a limited pre-season build-up. It won’t be far away before he’s playing league football, and then he should be playing in the Power side.

Daniel Webb (for Bloods reserves vs Roosters)
Westies had a good win in the SANFL reserves, and Webb played really well as a deep forward - he kicked 4 goals 2, and perhaps is the sort of player that’s a bit too good for this level. If he can play this sort of footy consistently he’ll get himself back into the league side and hopefully he’ll be able to show how much he’s improved in his second year within the AFL system soon.

Jarrad Redden (for Eagles reserves vs South)
He won a heap of hit-outs, which is his real strength as a footballer, and he needs to keep working upon having an influence upon play around the ground - he’s well aware of that, and if he can complement his dominance at the ruck stoppages with some good work around the ground then he should be able to force his way into the Eagles’ senior side.

Danny Meyer (for Tigers vs Double Blues)
It was a very quiet game for Danny after he got dunked on his head early, taking quite a big knock. He had a couple of shots on goal early on, but it’s fair to say that he had a quiet game for his standards.